Coughing Up a Lung - Pnumonia

[rinkhc]

Title: Coughing Up a Lung
Fandom: Farscape
Characters: John/Aeryn/Little D
Orientation: Het
Rating: Gen
Word Count: 685

Note: for farscapeland Everything’s Linked challenge

Prompt: HC Bingo Fill: “Pnumonia”

John bounced D’Argo on his hip and waited for the bay to pressurize as Aeryn and Chiana came back with the shuttle. They’d been gone three days on what was supposed to be a one day supply run. Three days and they had only sent two short messages that said they were fine, ran into a snag with the trade negotiations and that the crew back on Moya should not worry.

D’argo cooed and shoved a fistful of the blanket John had wrapped around his shoulders into his mouth. John let him gnaw on it, he was teething, if it stopped the crying, John would suffer damp spots on the blanket.

“You’re sick,” Aeryn said, accusation in her voice she walked through the hatch and saw him. She always took it as a personal affront when he came down with something.

He rolled his eyes. “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

“Ma!” D’argo called, leaning towards her with both chubby arms extended, destroying John’s precarious balance. He barely kept himself upright as Aeryn caught the baby and took him from John’s arms. “Ma, ma, ma, ma!” D’Argo had a very limited vocabulary, ma being both his favorite word and favorite person.

Aeryn stroked a hand over John’s cheek and forehead. “You’ve a fever. Your color is all wrong. Go to bed, John.”

“I’m so glad you’re home,” John rasped, and started coughing uncontrollably. Chiana came over and started pounding on his back in an effort to help. “I was having a hard time keeping up with him.”

“Chiana, stop, he isn’t choking. Are you choking, John?” Aeryn asked, restign a hand on his shoulder as she looked at him with concern. D’argo was pulling on the ends of her hair, stuffing a fistful into his mouth.

He shook his head ‘no’ as he bent double, his hand on his knees as he panted for breath. Then he nodded, maybe he was choking, he couldn’t catch his breath.

“Pilot, how long will it take to get to the closet Peacekeeper Medical Center?”

“Two days.”

“Chiana, take D’argo.” Aeryn handed the baby to her and wrapped an arm around John, “Come on, to bed with you. You’re shaking.”

He stumbled along, leaning heavily on Aeryn. When they got to their quarters, he collapsed onto the bed and rolled himself in the blanket he’d had wrapped around his shoulders. He’d been forcing himself to stay upright and alert for the baby’s sake. As soon as he’d made the handoff, as soon as he knew D’argo would be safe, the last of his reserves had given out. He curled into a ball, coughing. His lungs were on fire.

A small cough had quickly grown into something else. Aeryn spread another blanket over him and sat on the edge of the bed. “What would you have done if we had not returned?”

John shivered, vaguely hearing her words, he tried to answer, acknowledge her question, but he started coughing again. Darkness crept in from the edges of his vision and he gave in and let it take him.

~*~

When he woke, there was bright light around him and he could hear the sounds of machines beside the bed he was strapped to. “Aeryn?”

“I’m here John. Shhh.” Her hand was warm as she caressed his cheek.

“Where?”

“Medical facility. You had an infection in your lungs; the fluid buildup was affecting your breathing. You’ve been given treatments. How do you feel?”

Sounded like pneumonia, great. Space pneumonia, something else he could add to his list of experiences. He grimaced. “My chest hurts, like I got tackled by a linebacker.”

She smiled. “Moya’s security sensors showed a linebacker roaming the level three maintenance access corridors.”

“Did you make a joke?”

Aeryn shrugged her shoulders and tugged the edge of his blanket higher up on his chest. “Was it funny?”

Rather than answer, he changed the subject. “Where’s Little D?”

“Chasing linebackers through access tunnels on his hands and knees? He is with Chiana, flirting with the medical assistants. You frightened me, John.”

“Sorry.”

“I’ll forgive you. Try not to do it again.”